The American Heritage Spanish Dictionary, Second Edition [Hardcover]

Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries (Editor), Editors of The American Heritage Dictionaries (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 7, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0618127704 | ISBN-13: 978-0618127702 | Edition: Second Edition

Second Edition. American English and Latin American Spanish. Contains over 80,000 entries and 120,000 words and phrases. Features an emphasis on computer technology and Internet terms. Thumb-Indexed.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Spanish --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

The Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries and of other reference titles published by Houghton Mifflin Company are trained lexicographers with a varied array of interests and expertise. Most of the editors hold graduate degrees and have studied at least one foreign language. Several have degrees in linguistics or in the history of the English language. Others have degrees in science or sometimes other disciplines. All the editors familiarize themselves with the vocabulary in specific subject areas, collect materials on new developments and usage, and work in association with consultants to ensure that the content of our publications is as accurate and as up-to-date as possible.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1103 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; Second Edition edition (September 7, 2001)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 0618127704
• ISBN-13: 978-0618127702
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #426,923 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

96 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best value in Spanish<>English dictionaries, July 8, 2005

By 

Chris Marquardt "Spanish Pronto" (Olympia, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Heritage Spanish Dictionary, Second Edition (Hardcover)

As a professional Spanish translator, I do not find myself referring to this dictionary much, preferring instead the world's current best Spanish<>English dictionary, The HarperCollins Spanish Unabridged Dictionary, which is twice as heavy, twice as comprehensive, and often twice the price of this one. Still, for anyone who is not a professional translator, who does not want to cart around a dictionary weighing well over six pounds (this one weighs just under three), or who just wants the best dictionary possible on a budget, the American Heritage Spanish Dictionary is the best value out there.*

It is a better dictionary even than the Oxford Spanish Dictionary for the accuracy, precision, and variety of its translations. Unlike many of the Spanish dictionaries on the market, such as the Oxford and the HarperCollins, which are skewed toward European English and Spanish, the American Heritage emphasizes North-American English and Latin-American Spanish. Extremely well-edited, clear, and easy to use, it also has an excellent "Notes on Grammar and Usage" section. There are fewer usage examples in its entries than in the HarperCollins or the Oxford, but it very efficiently and clearly packs a lot of dictionary into a small volume.

Here, by way of example, is the entry for the word "leaf" (minus the pronunciations of "leaf" and "leaves," which use special characters I cannot type here):

leaf - I. s. [pl. leaves] BOT. hoja; (foliage) follaje m., hojas; (sheet of paper) hoja; (page) página; (folio) folio; (sheet of metal) lámina; (of table, door, shutter) hoja; AUTO. hoja * gold l. = pan de oro * in l. = con hojas * l. tobacco = tabaco en rama * to shake like a l. = temblar como un azogado * to turn over a new l. = empezar una nueva vida, hacer borrón y cuenta nueva II. intr. BOT. echar hojas -tr. hojear * to l. through = hojear

Where a lesser dictionary might say "leaf - hoja; follaje, hojas; página; folio; lámina" and send you scurrying to the Spanish side to find out which of these translations fits the particular meaning you want, the AH saves you valuable time by clearly differentiating, within its English entry, which translation refers to leaves of trees, which to leaves of paper, and which to leaves of metal. Notice also that in cases where the gender of the Spanish word might not be clear (such as "follaje" here), or might be different from what one would normally expect (such as "problema," for example), the AH includes an indication of the gender (m. or f.) within the English entry, unlike other dictionaries which, again, would force you to take the time to look up "follaje" or "problema" on the Spanish side to find this information. This fault is especially a problem with words like "problema" or "mano" where most students would not even think to take this extra step, thinking (incorrectly) that they already could tell the word's gender from its final vowel.

This second (2001) edition brings this dictionary more up to date by adding many current terms that were missing in the 1986 edition, but has not changed much else from the original. I am already looking forward to a third edition that might perhaps use current technology to rework this dictionary, based on an electronic corpus of the latest American usage in both languages. (It is a mystery to me why no one has yet decided to create such a truly comprehensive North-American-English<>Latin-American-Spanish dictionary, one along the lines of the HarperCollins Unabridged, but written and edited from the perspective of the Americas.) This dictionary is not as comprehensive as the HC Unabridged, but the American Heritage Spanish Dictionary (hardcover edition) would be my recommendation for students, teachers, and others looking for the best all-around value in the Spanish dictionary market. An excellent dictionary that won't bust your budget or your back.

(*Note: This review refers only to the full, hardcover version of the American Heritage, not the "concise" or paperback editions, which are different books entirely, and which I do not recommend to anyone because they tend to be mere shadows of this edition, both in the reduced number of words they cover and in the poor quality of their faded, microscopic print.)

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just as Good as Promised, March 3, 2006

By 

Willet784 "Willet" (NY, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Heritage Spanish Dictionary, Second Edition (Hardcover)

When I want to buy a product I research it a great deal and that I did with the American Heritage Spanish Dictionary, 2nd Edition (Hardcover). I've had it for 3 days and it is indispensible if you want to learn Latin American Spanish, which most so-called good dictionaries do not concentrate on at all! It even had mofongo, a dish from the Dominican Republic, listed! All the other dictionaries I've had didn't even list foods, much less specialities from various Latin American countries.

Furthermore, the print is easy on the eyes and the covers appear strong, unlike the HarperCollins, which some people have complained about.

My advice: Get it (the hardcover version). It is so worth the price.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for beginning and intermediate students, November 18, 2007

By 

Paul Stevenson "Linguist" (Duhok, Iraq) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The American Heritage Spanish Dictionary, Second Edition (Hardcover)

For beginning and intermediate students, this dictionary is excellent. I give it five stars for this audience. It is both useful and affordable. If you are an advanced high school student, an undergraduate or a member of the general public learning Spanish, the American Heritage Spanish Dictionary is at the top of my list of recommendations for you. (If you are getting into literature or professional areas that exceed the limits of this dictionary, you need to look at Oxford Spanish Dictionary, HarperCollins Spanish Unabridged Dictionary, 8th Edition, Simon & Schuster's International Spanish Dictionary, possibly Gran Dicionario Larousse Espanol-Ingles-Espanol, and the major monolingual Spanish dictionaries: El Pequeno Larousse Illustrado 2009, Diccionario de la Lengua Espanola.)